Philippine art-crafts - materials, forms, designs and functions, are definitive of the agrarian based economic activities of the people. From abundant resources in the natural surroundings, the Filipino craftsmen-agriculturist produce objects for everyday use, rituals, and special occasions through the use of various materials such as pineapple leaf and abaca plant fibers aside from linen and cotton for textiles, palm leaves and gourd for hats, thorny pandan leaves for mats, forest vines and bamboo for baskets, and giant shell rings for bracelets. The materials and designs have been enriched through active interactions among culture groups in the Philippines as well as trade exchanges that have been conducted with neighboring Asian cultures such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Indians and other Southeast Asians from the 14th to the 17th centuries or even earlier in the case of the Chinese. The latter brought silk for textile production in exchange for sappan wood (Caesalpina sappan), which produce red dye, and beeswax for dye-resist designs in textiles.